Portuguese startup Gleedot has launched a platform designed to help families discover, compare and organize extracurricular activities, holiday camps, schools, academies, and educational opportunities for children.
The idea, according to the team, was born from the observation that while there are more opportunities for children than ever before, finding the right ones remains difficult.
Parents often spend hours navigating websites, social media pages, flyers, WhatsApp groups and personal recommendations to identify activities that match their children’s interests, age, schedule, and location, they say.
To better understand the challenge, co-founders Joana Pinto and Pedro Rodrigues, spoke with hundreds of parents across Portugal.
The feedback, Pinto told Portugal Startup News, was consistent: information is fragmented, difficult to compare, and often fails to answer the practical questions that matter most to families.
“What initially appeared to be an activity discovery problem revealed itself to be something much deeper: a family logistics problem,” she said.
As Pinto explained, parents are not simply asking what activities exist.
“They are trying to solve a much broader challenge: finding opportunities that fit their child’s age and interests, are practical from a logistics perspective, work around school and work schedules, offer options during school holidays, and can be discovered without spending hours searching across multiple websites, social media pages and WhatsApp groups.”
Gleedot was created to address this gap by bringing children’s activities and educational opportunities into a single platform where families can explore, compare, and organize options based on their needs, interests, and daily routines.
AI-powered Family Assistant
Each activity includes detailed information such as descriptions, dates, pricing, trial class availability, and contact details, helping families make informed decisions more quickly.
To further simplify the process, Gleedot also includes an AI-powered Family Assistant that helps parents navigate the available options, identify activities that best fit their family’s needs and provide guidance related to children’s development, learning, and family life.
For activity providers, schools, and academies, Gleedot serves as a digital showcase that increases visibility and helps them connect with families actively looking for relevant programs.
Early traction
Gleedot brings together more than 900 activities from over 30 partner organizations in Lisbon spanning sports, arts, music, dance, coding, science, languages and holiday camps, with plans to expand to other cities in the coming months.
The platform, launched on International Children’s Day on June 1, has already been used by 150 families. The goal is to multiply that number in the upcoming months, in time to improve the platform for the next academic year.
The company believes this early interest from both providers and families validates the need for a dedicated discovery platform in this space.
Vision for the future
Gleedot’s vision, according to Pinto, is to become the “leading platform for families looking to discover activities and organize their family life.”
While the platform began by helping parents find activities, the long-term ambition is much broader: to simplify family decision-making and become a trusted companion throughout a child’s development journey.
Featured image: Gleedot co-founders Joana Pinto (right) and Pedro Rodrigues (Photo courtesy of Gleedot)
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